Technology and education for better surgeries

In light with Kenya’s Vision 2030 mandate, Kenya’s health industry has a huge opportunity to improve its services by advancing surgical care in rural areas. This was the keynote message by General Electric Healthcare (GE) team on Monday morning at the Norfolk Hotel, in Nairobi when they launched an anesthesia delivery system, Carestation 30.

According to GE statistics there are two physicians per 10000 people in rural Africa, and technology can help change this by making sure rural communities have an improved level of clinical care necessary to ensure positive outcomes when it comes to surgery. So far the South African based company has 25,000 product technologies deployed in hospitals across the continent.

Carestation 30 was developed with a mindset of having the right technology tools to deliver the safest surgery possible in rural areas. Speaking during the event, Thierry Leclercq, the President and CEO, Life Care Solutions, GE Healthcare said insufficient infrastructure equipment is one of the major healthcare challenges among others like skilled labour, high disease burden, high maternal and infant mortality in rural Africa.

Compared to the old system which involved a lot of muscle power, gas leaks were not easily monitored, which polluted the operation room, Carestation 30, caregivers can now view patient data and alarm indicators on a colour display, allowing efficient access to critical information. The technology enables clinical innovation and performance, accurate mechanical ventilation and integrated, compact breathing system with integrated SpO2 monitoring.

The system has an excellent user experience, “Compact and ergonomic with an intuitive user interface and a comprehensive training package, it’s a combination of technology, education for a safer surgery and better outcomes”, said Jay Ireland, the CEO of Africa, General Electric.

Carestation 30 is designed to compact breathing system which minimizes leaks; it is engineered for maximum reliability and minimal maintenance with an extended battery life of up to six hours.

Farid Fezoua, President and CEO of GE Healthcare in Africa support the Kenyan government investment in ehealth and the health strategies outlined in Vision 2030. With such innovative systems CIOs in the health sector are able to plan for resources through statistics and data collected within them for better practice in ehealth systems

“In Africa GE is working hard to bring better health to more people by leveraging the best of our resources, expertise, products and solutions to address the needs of citizens across the continent. Given the access issues facing the region, advancing surgery in the rural primary care setting, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa is a key area of focus”, said Fezoua.

The equipment price will be determined by customer’s needs, whether a standalone unit or one particular module, depending on what capabilities are required.